


Power and Control

by hesychia



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, F/M, M/M, Multi, Spirit World (Avatar), Spirits, Superheroes, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:21:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28363848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hesychia/pseuds/hesychia
Summary: Katara, better known as the superheroine Rivulette, has been missing for 24 hours. Aang, working as the superhero Avatar, and Zuko have finally found a lead, one that takes them to a new villain. Senator Zhao, a corrupt politician, has discovered that spirits are not creatures of myth, and he intends to use this information for a deadly purpose.For the Zutaraang Holiday Exchange
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Aang/Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Aang/Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 6





	Power and Control

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lukas17](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lukas17/gifts).



> This piece is for Lukas17 for the Zutaraang Holiday Exchange! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

The thief’s feet skidded against the slick pavement as he turned, so fast he nearly lost his balance. He glanced back and saw blurs of orange and red, gaining quickly. The man gasped for breath as he ran, eyes flickering desperately across the silent shop fronts. He saw an opening and bolted for an alleyway. 

Just as he entered the dark corner, his foot caught on a stray cobblestone, and he crashed to the pavement with a cry. 

Before his body had stopped, two hands seized the front of his black coat, lifting him to his feet. The man grunted as his pursuer slammed his back against a brick wall. 

“When I say freeze,” a low voice growled. “You freeze, thief.”

The man stared at the orange cowl, a sky blue arrow pattern curving over the hero’s skull and aiming down between the stormy eyes. A tremor ran through him, but the criminal snarled through his fear, “Let me go, Avatar!”

“Tell me where she is, Sang-jin.” There was an unusual coldness to the hero’s voice. Sang-jin had heard Avatar speak before from news clips, briefing sessions in murky basements. The superhero was a kid, a goofball, though Sang-jin and the others in his gang had been warned not to underestimate Avatar’s power. 

The person pinning him to the wall now seemed like a completely different man. There was no trace of mercy in his eyes, no quips in his sneer. 

Avatar pulled him back and slammed his body against the wall again. “Where is she!”

Sang-jin gasped and clutched Avatar’s wrists with his calloused hands. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Another figure came into view behind him. The man was slightly shorter, his features illuminated by a flame blooming from his gloved palm. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, Sang-jin.” His unmasked eyes flickered in the light, his left singed with a scar the size of a fist.

Sang-jin frowned. “Hotman?”

“No, my name’s not- It’s Zuko, okay? Just Zuko.” The hero scowled. “Just- start talking.”

“Now.” Avatar lifted him against the wall so that his feet dangled above the pavement. 

Sang-jin’s eyes widened as he stared down, glancing quickly between the two heroes. “I- I don’t know! He never told us-”

“Who is ‘he’?” Avatar said. 

“I- I can’t,” Sang-jin sputtered. “He’ll kill me if I say anything-”

“And we’ll kill you if you don’t,” Avatar said in a low tone. 

“You-you’re bluffing! You’re superheroes, you don’t kill people!” He looked to Zuko, who looked startled by Avatar’s statement. 

“Avatar, wait-”, Zuko murmured, stepping forward. 

Avatar ignored him. “That was before you kidnapped our girlfriend.” 

Sang-jin blinked at him. “What do you mean ‘our’- Ahh!”

Avatar’s palms grew hot, scorching the fabric of Sang-jin’s coat. “Last chance, thief. Where is Rivulette?”

He yelled as the heat burned through his clothing and pierced his chest. “The docks! She-she’s at the docks! Pier 41!”

Sang-jin collapsed to the ground. He patted the edges of the flaming fabric, whimpering as Avatar removed a zip tie from his belt. “Now you’ll let me go?”

“We’ll let you live,” Avatar said, snatching the thief’s wrists and binding them together. “But you’re not going anywhere.”

The heroes left him beneath the streetlamp, hands and feet bound waiting for the police. The two launched into the air, soaring above Republic City. Avatar stretched out his arms in front of him, his body carried by the wind while Zuko was propelled by blasts of flame beneath his feet and hands. 

The city moved beneath them, headlights from traffic streaming between the concrete buildings. They flew above the curved roofs, neon signs mingling to create a hue of pink and blue. Zuko looked past Republic City to their destination: the docks of Half Moon Bay, the sea stretching beyond in a black abyss. 

He glanced to his left. Avatar’s form was rigid, his brown eyes focused and unwavering despite the circles beneath them. Zuko cleared his throat. “So, any ideas on who he’s working for?”

Avatar shrugged. “Don’t know. Guess we’ll find out.”

Zuko stiffened, training his eyes on the horizon. There was a long pause before he spoke again. “So are you… good?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Avatar asked, mouth sour. 

“Just that you were kind of intense back there.”

Avatar said nothing. The wind whipped past them. A police siren echoed in the distance. 

“I mean, you kind of threatened to kill that guy, Aang.”

He jerked at the sound of his secret identity. “I didn’t mean it. You know I’d never-”

“I know, but you were pretty convincing.” Zuko considered him. “So?”

“Well, it worked, didn’t it?” He glanced at Zuko, and when he saw his unyielding expression, Aang sighed. “I know it was intense, but I’m just…. Frustrated. I don’t get it, Zuko. No note, no ransom… Nothing. This is our first lead in 2 days.” His voice got quieter. “Anything could have happened in that time… Katara could be hurt, or worse, she could be-”

Zuko banked around to stop him mid-air, the two hovering in place. “Aang.”

Aang bowed his head with a grimace. “What?”

“You said you could handle it.”

“I can,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m just-”

“Distracted?” Zuko raised an eyebrow at him. “I know you’re worried about her; I am too. But the best thing we can do for her is stay on track.”

“Okay, Zuko, you don’t have to lecture me,” Aang grumbled. 

“I’m not lecturing you, I-” Zuko searched his tired eyes, attributing the attitude to his lack of sleep. Usually, Aang was the one reining him in; Zuko felt strange being on the other side. He sighed, asking, “Promise me you can handle this?”

“I already-”

“Promise.” His expression softened. “Please.” 

Aang paused, then muttered, “I promise.”

Zuko reached for his hand, taking his limp fingers in his own. “Let’s go get our girl.”

Aang looked to their interlocked hands, relaxing slightly at the touch. He glanced up at Zuko. “Whatever you say,” he smirked faintly, “Hotman.”

“Oh, come on!” Zuko was too relieved at Aang’s return to normalcy to be angry, but he feigned annoyance anyway as they resumed their flight. “Not you too! I get enough from the news.”

“I think it’s good for you to have an alias. What about your secret identity?”

Zuko waved a hand over his scarred face. “What secret identity?”

Aang’s laughter was weaker than usual, but Zuko was glad to hear it after days of silence. 

* * *

The heroes descended towards the boardwalk, gliding past the warehouses. “Pier 37…” Aang muttered to himself. “Up there!”

Their boots thunked against the wooden dock as they approached a door to the warehouse. Aang went first and examined the padlock. “Locked.” He sighed. “Katara never taught me how to pick locks.”

“She taught me.” Zuko stepped forward. “Move aside.”

Once Aang was out of the way, Zuko pinched the lock between his fingers. He let go of the metal, clenching his fist as flames erupted from his hand. 

The small explosion caused both heroes to stagger back. There was a smoldering window of shattered door frame where the lock had once been. Aang’s mouth hung agape as he stared at Zuko. “She didn’t teach you that!”

“Nah,” Zuko said, wiping ash off his sleeve. “I just had to get you to move.”

“What if someone heard?”

Zuko shoved open the warehouse door. “Pretty sure we lost the element of surprise when you decided to wear orange.” He indicated the building’s interior. “After you.”

Aang grumbled and moved past him, igniting a small flame in his hands as he entered the darkness. Zuko followed, fire blooming from his palm. 

The structure was held up by steel beams, the open concrete space holding nothing other than a few scattered crates. The heroes took a long glance around the room, before Zuko huffed. “Empty. Sang-jin lied.”

“Wait.” Aang knelt, fingers tracing along a line on the floor. His hand stopped at a small metal loop that rose from the concrete. “What about this?”

“They probably used it to tie down cargo or something. There’s nothing here; let’s get-”

Aang tugged on the loop, and the floor shuddered. Along the line, a door began to swing open, rising to reveal a staircase. The passageway led to a concrete hall, illuminated by strips of warm lights that ran against the tops of the walls. 

Zuko pressed his lips together. “Lucky guess.”

Aang smirked and gestured to the stairs. “After you.”

They entered the passageway, cautious but curious. The labyrinthian path twisted left and right, finally opening up into a large, rectangular chamber. Rows of lab equipment, computers, and various other pieces of technology lined the walls, casting an eerie ultramarine glow from the screens. In the center of the room, a raised platform stood, surrounded by a circular drain below and a blue curtain from above. 

“Hello?” Avatar called, tensed and ready. 

“Avatar,” a man’s voice echoed from everywhere. “Welcome, I’ve been expecting you for some time.”

The heroes searched the room with their eyes, but saw no one. “Who are you?” Avatar asked.

The voice ignored him. “And Zuko: the prodigal son himself. Or should I say, Hotman?”

Zuko grit his teeth. “You shouldn’t.”

“Show yourself, coward!” Avatar snarled, no longer in the mood for games. 

After a pause, the curtain shifted, and a man stepped into the light. His gray hair was pulled into a topknot much like Zuko’s, beard curving beneath his cheekbones and flaring out at the jaw. His muscles were visible even beneath the black suit, a red flame pattern embroidered along the lapel. He stood at attention, arms behind his straightened back, his face composed with an underlying smirk.

Zuko’s eyes widened. “Councilman Zhao?”

“Senator,” Zhao corrected. “I was elected into office last spring.”

When Avatar clenched his fists, a vibration rumbled through the stone floor. His brown eyes bored into Zhao’s as he said in a low voice, “Where is she?”

“Don’t get your cowl in a twist, Avatar; Rivulette is alive and safe.”

“Then show her to me.”

“You know,” Zhao said, ignoring him. “Kidnapping her was not an easy feat; any one of you pose such a threat that it would have been impossible to convince her…”

Six cylindrical nozzles dropped from the ceiling, hanging several feet above their heads. Six more rose from the floor around them to mirror the ones above, surrounding the heroes inside a hexagonal shape. The nozzles sparked with electricity, a loud zap resounding as lightning burst between the nozzles on the floor and the ones hanging from the ceiling. The power caused the heroes to collapse, falling to their knees. The jolts eased to create electric bars, trapping them in a cage.

A grin played on the corner of Zhao’s lips as he approached, gloating, “... but eventually she listened to reason.”

“What is this?” Zuko gasped, keeled over. 

“It’s an electro-magnetic field, of sorts. While these bars resemble electrical voltage, they’re actually created from something much more... Unreal.” Zhao paced in front of the glowing cell. “You see, Avatar, I have been tracking you and your little hero squad since you started this endeavor ten years ago. After all, there are so few who have the genetic makeup to bend the elements, especially in these harrowing times. I’m especially intrigued with your ability, Avatar, to control all four. Alas, after several crime scene investigations, I was only able to recover one sample of DNA: Rivulette’s.”The corner of his mouth twitched into a sly smile. “Or should I say, Katara?”

Avatar and Zuko remained silent, their eyes glaring daggers into Zhao. The senator shrugged and went on. 

“I’ve spent months researching her genes, trying to find what it is that gives her such raw power. I kept getting so close to the answer, but never was it in my grasp, until the day I decided to take a study break at the library.”

“Who takes...” Zuko muttered, “A study break… at the library?”

“It was there,” Zhao continued, ignoring him. “That I discovered the truth, the source of her incredible power, of all your powers.”

“And what’s that?” Avatar asked through gritted teeth, though he already knew the answer. 

“Spiritual energy.” Zhao grinned menacingly. “I discovered information that you likely know already, that our world is not what it seems. There are spirits all around us, and long ago, we humans had a connection with these spirits that allowed us to tame the winds, move mountains, and calm the seas. But as time went on, we slowly realized that this spiritual link kept us from our true potential. We severed ourselves from the spirits for the growth of our kind. And yet, though the spirits have dwindled in number and power, many still exist today. Some of them have good or at best, neutral, intentions, but a great many more are in a perpetual state of vengeance. They are angry at the humans for conquering and subjugating this world, for building cities and empires on the graves of gods.”

Avatar listened to Zhao’s words. Nothing that the senator said was new to him, but his fury only grew as the secrets of the spiritual world were laid bare. 

“I realized that if I could recover these existing spirits, I could redirect their power.” Zhao turned his attention to the electric beams containing the heroes. “In fact, this containment unit was only made possible with the help of a particularly vicious eel spirit.”

Avatar’s heart skipped a beat. “What are you saying?” he asked, terror creeping into his voice. “You’re… you’re killing spirits to steal their power?”

“Not killing so much as draining,” Zhao clarified, moving to the technology lined wall. He pressed a button, and the wall at the far end of the room, behind the raised pedestal and blue curtain, fell away. Avatar and Zuko stared up at the revealed aquatic chamber, where several creatures swam in lethargic circles. The drained ocean spirits swirled inside the chamber, their fins and spines grey with pallor. 

Avatar’s eyes widened in horror. “You… you’re a monster…” He struggled against the weight of the energy, rising from the floor despite the force pushing his body down. “You have to stop this, Zhao... You’re messing with forces you don’t... understand.” Zuko moved behind him, also fighting against the voltage. 

Zhao raised an eyebrow at Avatar’s strength. “Ah, you do know of the spirits; I thought so. However, I assure you that I understand them far better than you, Avatar, which is why I will use them to take control over this pathetic city, and then, the world.”

“You can’t!” Avatar forced himself to stand, hunched over while he panted through the effort. “Trust me, Zhao... the energy of the spirits... can’t be controlled! This won’t go the way you think it will!” 

“Stay down and let me finish,” Zhao said, pressing another button. The electric bars thrummed more intensely, and both Avatar and Zuko cried out as their bodies were pushed to the ground once more. “I’ve run enough experiments with their energy to know that the easiest method of control is through a host. Not just any host, however, one who already has enough spirit energy to be manipulated.”

Zuko and Avatar exchanged glances, realization dawning on their features. They both turned and uttered, “No…”

“No,” Avatar said again. “You… you didn’t…”

Zuko growled, “What’s underneath the curtain, Zhao?”

The senator smiled arrogantly, savoring the moment. “Do you really want to know?”

“Show us!” Avatar yelled, fists clenched. 

“If you insist.” Zhao lifted his hand and yanked on the curtain. The fabric fell with a whoosh, cascading down around the raised platform. In the center, a vertical cylindrical tank held Katara’s unconscious form. Her brown hair splayed in the water, mouth covered by an oxygen mask that wove towards the ceiling of the chamber. Wires plugged in to various places on her body, weaving over her torn, azure supersuit. A small monitor beside the tank blinked with every beat of her heart. 

“Katara...” Avatar tried to hide his relief at seeing her alive, but his eyes flickered back to Zhao. “What have you done to her?”

“Nothing yet,” Zhao said almost gleefully. “I thought it would be best to wait for you two, to get a true understanding of her power.” He stepped back, behind the tank, and placed his hand on a lever. “After this moment, she will no longer be Katara, or Rivulette. She will be host of the sea spirits, a combination of their energy combined into one vengeful force. She will be-” He shoved the lever down. “Ayakashi.”

The ultramarine lights of the lab flickered on and off, sparks racing along the wires that connected to Katara’s body. A luminescent liquid flowed into the tank, and her limbs began to tremble. Behind her, the aquarium thrummed, the sea spirits picking up speed as they swirled in a panicked state. 

Katara shuddered, fingers clenching and unclenching as the raw energy surged through her veins. She gasped and opened her eyes, the usual blue pupils holding a storm of flashing bolts. Katara lurched forward, hands pressing against the glass wall as she cried out beneath the oxygen mask. 

Avatar and Zuko could only watch in silent horror; they tried to reach for her, forgetting that their limbs were still weighed down. 

Energy continued to pour into the tank, obscuring her from view. A loud humming noise escalated in volume, louder and louder until the sound was unbearable. The glass of the tank began to crack. Only then did Zhao pull up the lever, but the power was too much for the small laboratory. The tank shattered, water pouring from the broken glass. The emergency system recognized the liquid, and the lights shut down. The room became enveloped in darkness, cold silence save for the water slowly spilling down the drain.

Avatar realized that their electric prison was gone, the bars evaporated in the blackout. His fingers felt along the wet floor until he touched Zuko’s elbow, seizing his arm and helping him to his feet. Before either of them regained the energy to ignite a flame, the backup generator sputtered on. Two dim crimson lights flared on either side of the doorway where the heroes had entered, casting triangles of light towards the floor. Two more lights activated beside the first, and more followed as the red glow traveled down the walls and toward the shadowed pedestal. 

Soon, the room was faintly illuminated in a reddish glare, reflecting off the surface of the damp floor. A dark figure stood hunched in front of Zuko and Avatar. Two eyes opened from the being’s skull, glowing a solid ultramarine as the body stirred. 

Zhao’s voice echoed throughout the room, and they both realized he had disappeared. “Now, Avatar, we’ll see who is truly in control.”

Ayakashi lifted her head, long brown hair hanging wet around her shoulders as her hands sparked. She took a lurching step towards them. 

Zuko leaned towards Avatar, muttering, “Still think you can handle this?"

Blue electricity burned along Ayakashi’s arteries, her teeth bare as she pulled her arms back. Water from the burst tank stirred at her feet in violent ripples. 

Avatar stood at the ready, hands lifted in front of him. “Nope.”

Her hands gathered the water into two waves on either side of her, energy flickering angrily as it zapped through the liquid. 

Zuko widened his stance, flexing his fingers as warmth returned to them. “Me either.”

Ayakashi released an eerie scream, then attacked.


End file.
